Apple must license iOS to 2ed party developers.

[PracticalMac]

1) People have been using Microsoft Office forever yet still buy Apple products, so your theory doesn't explain this.

2) If Apple doesn't make a 'licensed iPad' that doesn't mean that Android will necessarily move into that territory.
- for many purposes, iOS, Mac, MS, Android are already entrenched and work fine
- for niche purposes, there are already niche companies making hardware and software for specific tasks, who can do so more efficiently than going through Apple
- the remainder is so small that it is not worth it for Apple to pursue this, and will lose nothing to competitors because they are not competing in this space at all, any more than they are losing to Northrop Grumman's electronics division.

And when the iPads break? Books are far more durable, and you haven't shown any evidence that reading on a screen is better for literacy than reading off a page. If people need iPads for education they can be subsidized and used as-is. If some variant is warranted, this is completely separate from the idea of licensing iOS to another party; Apple could just have a small division doing this.

1) No, you failed to explain it. MS Office is an application that has a Mac version, and guess what, 99% of business in the world use one or more of the Office applications at the very least because their clients use office.

Linux is a better example.
It is an open source free OS that is robust and capable enough to do server work.
Microsoft used to command the server market, I think about 65% of that market (3.11, WinNT, W2K), but Linux was adopted by small time service and host provides, and other niche companies, and as they prospered larger institutions adopted Linux.
Today Microsoft is the minority in web hosting, as low as 21% according to some data.

Microsoft lost a monopoly becuase they failed to consider a free OS as a threat and/or provide custom "niche" solutions.


2) Books generally are not durable (special expensive types aside).
They dissolve when get wet, pages can rip out, bugs will eat them, people will write all over them, etc. Books in an uncontrolled, open environment area do not look that good after about a year.
Books that are rarely handled and in a climate controlled area can last for centuries, but that is not the case with most.

A rugged cased device can survive harsh conditions (rain, impact, use) much better then a book. They have to or why bother make it?

Man, you are completely out of touch with the world if you think that sending iPads to a 3rd world country is going to provide them with education. The first thing that would happen is the local rebel gangs would kill everyone for their iPads, and then trade the iPads for guns. (they may initially trade the iPads for cash, drugs, diamonds, etc, but ultimately they will get guns.) They will then use their bigger armory to kill more innocent people.

Again, 3rd world countries don't need iPads. It's so insanely naive to say that. Wow.

LMAO!
Rebels don't care about iPads!
They want that iGoat!!
In the middle of *empty* desert, whats worth more, a glass of water or iPad?

I am am not berating you directly when I say you are a perfect example of the lack of reality most people are.
In poor, undeveloped countries, the most important items are in order:
Water, Food, Shelter, defenses (against animals and rebels), fuel (cooking), gas (transportation). A guerrilla will not know how to use it, IF he can find a place to charge it!

Actually, the third party/embedded market is rather large dollar wise. When I worked for AMD/ATI, I developed video drivers for embedded products that ranged from airplane cockpit displays to casino games to voting booths to medical equipment. Many of these products ran Windows CE or a lightweight build of linux.

While the overall market segment is smaller than retail, the gross margins are thru the roof! We'd take a high end Radeon card that sold for $500 retail and tweak the driver a bit and sell it for $15000 for an MRI machine. While Apple may not be actively courting this market, it's not because it's insignificant.

Thank you!

Finally someone who knows the potential profit in those "niche" markets!

Don't under estimate the strength of the dark side!


Look everyone,
I understand Apple will NOT do this because that is the position Apple takes on licensing, but no body has presented a valid reason a rugged version of the iPad cannot be at least a good, profitable selling machine.

 

[EssentialParado]

no body has presented a valid reason a rugged version of the iPad cannot be at least a good, profitable selling machine.

All Apple would be doing in creating a rugged iPad version would be putting a standard iPad within a case. And there is a simple reason why they'll never do that: http://www.google.com/search?q=rugged case ipad

...because multiple others already have.

It's like asking Apple to create an in-car iPhone holder. — It's not what they do.

 

[PracticalMac]

All Apple would be doing in creating a rugged iPad version would be putting a standard iPad within a case. And there is a simple reason why they'll never do that: http://www.google.com/search?q=rugged case ipad

...because multiple others already have.

It's like asking Apple to create an in-car iPhone holder. — It's not what they do.

I doubt those cases can exceed IPx3 ratings, which is far from the definition of "Rugged" I am thinking of.

For example, the Dell Latitude E6400 XFR is IP65 (which my company uses) can be used in pouring rain without issue.
It costs (now) $4000, and is basically a OLDER Latitude model in a special case which would cost 1/6th as much. FIVE times (5x) more expensive, and you know the hardware costs are not even close to that.
http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/latitude-e6400-xfr/pd

The rating I expect to see in a true rugged custom iPad will be IP67
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_Code

 

[balamw]

There isn't much stopping an interested third party from taking the guts of an iPad and putting them in the appropriate case.

It's not that Apple doesn't do some very profitable niche markets.

In fact many of the Mac models are niches of their own, like the Mac mini which is a class leader is SFF machines. They just don't do niche markets that don't interest them, like tablet Macs (a void that was filled with the ModBook) and others like iPhones or Macs without cameras (many employers do not allow cameras on the premises), etc...

B

 

[AceCoolie]

There isn't much stopping an interested third party from taking the guts of an iPad and putting them in the appropriate case.

It's not that Apple doesn't do some very profitable niche markets.

In fact many of the Mac models are niches of their own, like the Mac mini which is a class leader is SFF machines. They just don't do niche markets that don't interest them, like tablet Macs (a void that was filled with the ModBook) and others like iPhones or Macs without cameras (many employers do not allow cameras on the premises), etc...

B

Actually, you'd have to have a license agreement to do that.